Chornalth Adventures - Liga

Arc 1, Session 1, The Jacinth Frog

Meanwhile, aboard the Silver Gull...

GM’s note: the current campaign is an “extension” of a campaign I ran back in 2006, involving many of the same players, forces, and objectives as the current campaign. As events unfold in the 2014 campaign, I will be posting the events of the 2006 campaign, as there will be some overlap in villains and goals. I quit keeping a proper campaign log at some point, but there’s at least a year or more’s worth of “campaign updates” to be salvaged. The 2006 campaign was, of course, equal parts 3.x and Arcana Evolved, so that will explain some of the character classes in use. To help differentiate, 2014 updates will be “Episodes” while the 2006 updates are “Sessions”, and of course both will be tagged as either 2014 or 2006, as necessary.

This campaign was set in the same world as an even earlier campaign from 2000, using the RuneQuest system and copious house rules. I just found a folder full of the complete printouts from that campaign, so look for updates for that as well.

Finding themselves all looking for a new ship, our band joins the crew of the Silver Gull in Port Toli, in the Hold of the Sea Princes, serving as marines under Captain Allison Morgan.

After several days of becoming accustomed to their new ship and taking on cargo, the Gull sets sail due south across the Jerlea Bay for the Amedio with a cargo of beads and bronze axe, spear, and arrowheads.

On reaching the coastline, the Gull sailed due east, until a signal fire was spotted along the beach. Anchoring offshore, the party and the 1st mate of the ship (Arox Pfett, a human) made landfall in one of the ship’s boats loaded with several cases of trade goods.

After awhile, an agreement was reached with the Olmans (the trade goods exchanged for gold bracelets and other jewelry), Captain Morgan came ashore and was seen talking with one of the older natives and drawing pictures in the sand. After they were finished, Alianna examined their drawings and determined that they had sketched a river delta somewhere to the east, and that ‘something’ was to be found on the eastern shore of that river some miles upstream.

That night, after taking the ship a few miles further offshore, Alianna and Alexander’s watch was interrupted by nearly two score sahuagin who swarmed over the rail; Alianna’s timely sounding of the alarm was later cited as one of the main reasons the ship and company were saved, though at one point during the battle a strange, silvery light bathed Alianna, Kitiana, and the pair of sahuagin they were fighting in the prow of the ship.

After securing the ship even further offshore, the Silver Gull set sail again the next morning, reaching the river delta Alianna had seen in the sand the night before. Morgan and Pfett argued about how far upriver the Gull could safely sail, and finally Captain Morgan asked the party to accompany her in one of the ship’s boats when they had gone as far inland as the 1st mate dared take the ship.

After rowing nearly 12 miles upstream, the party encountered the ruins of an ancient temple devoted to some sort of native bat-god. The stairs of the temple led directly into the river, and there was even stone pilings for them to secure their boat to. Inside the temple’s canopy, they encountered five massive piles of human skulls, the most recent of which still seemed to have a bit of flesh clinging to the bone. Insects of all sorts made these mounds their home, as well.

Frescoes on the wall told the history of the region, including one set of panels that indicated that a group of the bat-god’s followers had turned away and followed a snake god who led them in acts of depravity; they were condemned by all the gods and forced to slither away on their bellies before the lands they held could be reclaimed by loyal followers of the bat god once again.

As we ended the evening, Elzedar was checking one of the three massive stone doors for traps…